The Blind's Christmas
by Bootstrap Begley
Summary: She was sad. He couldn't help it. She was just sad. But they were friends. Close friends, too. How could Wilt bear it when Ke died?
1. Default Chapter

Chapter One: Blinded Christmas For Wilt

Snow softly fell on the midnight streets of Scanactity City. Carolers were just about everywhere in sight. On every doorstep, every sidewalk, in front of every store. Everywhere. Even at Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. Friends were putting up Christmas trees, bright and shining with their ornaments, with every friends' reflection in it. Tinsel was wrapping people up and at the same time making them laugh cheery, joyful laughs. The smell of pine needles filled the room from the marble, shiny floor to the Victorian ceiling. And, not to mention, the needles were scattered all over the floor. Younger friends stole tinsel away or snagged it off of the trees' branches and ran, letting it flow like silver water behind them. Infant friends curled up in beds of tinsel and tree needles.

Such a joyous place it was.

A certain tall, red imaginary friend was putting up a few mistletoes above the doorways and on the hallway ceilings, smiling all the while. His fur was such a bright scarlet, anyone would surely go blind but, in the end, long to see it again. His smile seemed to brighten the room even in the darkest of times. And lets not forget the thick black stitches and how you can just drown in the blue of the number one on his chest.

Wilt lifted his leg up for a few children with tinsel rush by and Mr. Herriman, too, who was hot on their tails. Wilt laughed. Christmas always had brought joy to the household. Wilt, despite the fact that he had noticed that it was night fall and how black the sky was tonight, had never known that there were others out there that weren't enjoying Christmas at all. And a small girl, not too far from Foster's, was crying right now. Wishing that she could leave the place she was in and search for something very dear to her. But, Wilt didn't even know that that girl existed. No one in that household did.

"I think I got all the mistletoe up, Frank-hey, whatcha got, there?" Wilt asked. Frankie looked up from the stack of presents she was carrying. "These?" She asked, bending down to pick up a small package she dropped. "Oh, nothing. Just presents." She, in the process of trying to get the fallen package, dropped another. She groaned and tried to pick them up, only succeeding in dropping more. "Argh!" She screamed. "Here," Wilt said, taking a few. "Let me help you with that." "Okay, thanks!" Said Frankie, leading him outside.

The front door slammed since nobody was there to catch it as Wilt and Frankie stepped carefully down the steps of Foster's with the presents in hand. Each step on the walkway made a clacking sound. The cement was cold and hard. Wilt's tennis shoes squeaked as he walked. His breath was but a white cloud in the air that slowly rose higher and higher above his head until it disappeared from view. Frakie loaded some of the presents she was carrying into the Foster's van.

"So," Wilt started. "Who-who are these for?" He shivered when the packages were taken from his hand. A coldness replaced where the warmth of them once were. "Oh, for some kids in an orphanage." Frankie said. "I'm going to try and cheer 'em all up." She smiled and began to climb into the car. "Who's going with you?" Wilt asked. "Well," Frankie said. She paused. "No one, I guess." "I could come." Wilt suggested. "I could help with the presents again." "Well . . . okay, but you must remember, Wilt, this is supposed to be a surprise. You can't tell any of the children we talk to about the presents, okay?" Frankie said, pulling him down and leaning close. "Okay." Wilt said. He then ducked and cramped inside the bus. It wasn't the best bus to ride in when a lot of others were there, as Wilt was very tall. But now, he could stretch his legs beneath the leather seats of the bus and finally relax them for a while. The bus ride was quieter than normal ones, but Wilt figured it was because nobody except for him and Frankie were on it.

Wilt turned his head and looked out at the falling snow. They seemed like dancing white fireflies. Merely lightning bugs zipping by. Perhaps they were those tiny packaging pellets people use and have to sort through before getting to their gifts. Also making a big mess.

The multi-colored bus bumped along the road. It hit many bumpy areas, and the road seemed to be a lot poorer than the others. Like somebody couldn't fill all the cracks in it. Some people sat in raggedy old clothes outside houses with worn out hats out with signs, saying things like, "The homeless need money." Wilt frowned and looked away.

Frankie came to a slowing hault in front of a building with a very thin Christmas tree there in the front. Wilt helped unpack all the packages and walked inside, where they were greeted by a plump, rosey cheeked, cheerful lady. "Oh, hello!" She said. "Oh!" She said again, seeing Wilt come in through the door. "Well, an imaginary friend. The children will be pleased." She told them, smiling a warm hearted smile. "Go anywhere, the children may or may not be asleep."

Wilt picked up a small present and began looking in one room. It had a solitary light hanging from the ceiling. Many spots showing where recent leaks once had been were everywhere. Wilt decided not to look at the ceiling when he noticed that all the children were sleeping. Innocent little angels were sleeping all around him. But, one caught his eye: a small girl laying on a cot with a patchwork quilt. She had her eyes closed with one arm bent and over the covers, using her hand as a headrest. Her hair was a copper color. Very pretty. But, the one thing he frowned about, was that there were small tear tracks going down her cheek. One went straight down. The other took a sharp turn inward on her face and went diagonal to her mouth and nose. She was terribly skinny and pale. She looked awfully weak. A lot weaker than some of the other children, and there were a lot. In her thin arms she clutched a small sewn doll. It had stringy blond hair and wore a green dress. She held it close to her chest. Wilt frowned more. Such a pretty thing shouldn't be so weak and helpless looking.

He gazed around the room. Yes, every child was sleeping. Frankie passed by the doorway with presents. She was putting them in childrens' sleeping arms, or just giving them to the few that managed to stay awake. He could hear their faint laughter in the other rooms.

He stole another look at the weak girl. He cleared his throat silently, making sure he wasn't waking any of the children. The girl stirred suddenly, her thin body moving slightly. She propped herself up on her pillows like she had a bad back. She yawned and then looked around, and started to cry.

Wilt couldn't bear it. Being the kind friend he was created to be, he walked over, pulled up a chair, and sat down. "Hey," he said. The girl was startled and snapped her head around to the voice. "Who-?" She began before sobbing. "It's okay." He softly told her. "My name's Wilt. I've come to visit for Christmas." "It's . . . it's Christmas?" The girl asked. Wilt was a little surprised she didn't know, but smiled at her. "Yeah," he said. "It's Christmas today. Why are you crying, if you don't mind me asking." She hesitated, but, deciding Wilt was kind and polite to her, she told him. "I miss my best friend. She's so far away and the last thing I heard from her was, 'Goodnight, Ke.' and then I was brought here, two states over from where she is. I don't even know if she's all right." She sobbed in between words, and Wilt wished he could at least tell her what was happening to her friend. "She was my only friend. And the only person that would talk to me and treat me normally. And my only other friend died from killing herself. Afterwards, her sister told me the news, and then jumped off of her garage and died, too. So then I only had my friend. And now, now she's gone!" The girl burst into tears again. Wilt watched her thin frame move inward and outward with her crying. "Don't-don't cry." He didn't know what to say, exactly. She had no parents, she had no friends to talk to. She had no one to give her nice things like they did. She was like an imaginary friend on their first week all alone without anyone. But she was real. "What's your name?" Wilt kindly asked her. She rubbed a few tears away from her right eye. "K-Ke." She replied. "That's a real pretty name." Wilt said. Ke managed a weak smile. "Th-thankyou." She said. "You're welcome, Ke."

"Um, I'm sorry but, why don't you get out of bed?" Wilt asked. "Because, because I don't get around much. I'm not good when I'm walking around." Ke stopped crying and smiled a little. "I'm glad you're here." She said. Wilt smiled his trademark smile and said, "I have a surprise for you." Talking to Ke, he didn't notice that Frankie had been busy putting the other presents beneath a large tree in the main room used for things such as sitting around or playing. "You do?" Ke smiled bigger. "Yeah, follow me."

Ke got out of bed, and stumbled a little, but followed Wilt. But, looking back, she bumped into the door frame. And, she looked like she wasn't looking where she was going, just listening to Wilt's footsteps. She bent down and grabbed something, but Wilt couldn't see what it was. Shrugging, he let her follow. He stopped in the doorway of the main room smiling. But, Ke knocked into him, and they both fell. Ke picked up her doll and said to Wilt, "I think I dropped something else." She pointed to in front of him. And, picking it up, Wilt was flabbergasted: It was a long, white cane.

Ke was blind.


	2. Blind As A Bat

**Chapter One: Blind As a Bat**

Ke stood there and grasped the long white stick as Wilt's large red hand handed it to her. He was glad she couldn't see him, for his one working eye was bulging slightly on its stalk. She tapped past him and into the room. "So," she said. "What was it you wanted to show me?" Wilt snapped out of his thoughts and smiled sympithectically as she gazed up at where he was. It was a shame such pretty eyes didn't work. "I told you, Ke, it's a surprise." Wilt whispered. She giggled while he smiled and turned her around, giving her a push in the right direction. Wilt still held a small package behind him and put it underneath of the huge tree looming over him. If he had a nose, it surely would have hit the glowing angel on top of the tree.

Ke continued to tap as more and more excited children from other rooms rushed in. They were in ragged old pajamas like poor children were. Ke smiled at the sound of little feet of all different sizes padding on the rug and thumping softly on the hardwood floor. Wilt smiled as they laughed and ran for the presents. Wilt saw a small but pretty dress laying beneath the tree with a small card on it. It was very beatiful; made of red velvet cloth with tiny bows around the collar and a bigger, lighter one in back. And, attached to it but so it could come off, was a smaller version of it for a doll. Wilt carefully picked it up and tapped slightly on Ke's skinny shoulder. She turned around and looked up, knowing who it was. "Yes?" she asked. Wilt put the dress in her thin, pale hands and, after feeling it for a few seconds, Ke's face lighted up with a true smile. "It's a velvet dress!" she said. She laughed with tears of joy, finding Wilt's leg and hugging it. "You brought us presents!" she cried. "Yeah," said Wilt. "We sure did." Ke hugged him tighter. "I hope you never leave me . . ." she whispered.

Frankie sat on the carpeted center of the room, laughing with the excited and overjoyed children. She let her green hoodie slide down a little. Many children came back to her for hugs. Wilt smiled and seated himself next to her. "They sure are happy," he said. "Yeah, like the others back at Foster's." Frankie said. Wilt's smile faded a little. "I never knew . . . some children lived like this." Frankie stopped smiling and looked at him. "They're just a little more unfortunate than us, I guess." Frankie eyed the small girl Wilt had given the dress to. "She's blind, huh?" she said softly. Wilt hesitated. "Yeah," he said. Frankie gave a small smile as she put her hand on his shoulder. "But so are you, in your broken eye," she pointed to it. Wilt reached up and touched its bent stalk. He thought about this for a moment, and realized that he knew what Ke felt like. Only he was lucky enough to have his other eye back. Ke couldn't see a thing. Wilt watched as Ke took off her doll's old green dress and put the nicer one on. "Now," she whispered to it. "We can have clothes to put on for Stella's birthday and when Christmas comes again." she smiled.

Wilt thought more about his blind eye and hers. But, he was ripped out of them when Frankie stood, fixing her hoodie. "Well," she said. "Wilt, it's time to go." Wilt hadn't known how long they had been there, and just now realized that, but he bit his lip, feeling like he should stay with Ke longer. "But," Wilt started. "What about Ke?" He suddenly felt worried for the small, sickly looking girl who was cradling her doll carefully in her arms by the tree and gazing into a bright red ornament. "What about Ke?" Frankie stopped. "Wilt, she stays here, don't you know that?" Frankie asked him. Wilt thought before giving a worried smile. "We could take her to Foster's, and she could be happy with us!" Wilt tried. Frankie slowly shook her head. "No, Wilt, she can't. She lives here, she isn't like an abandoned imaginary friend. Wilt, I'm sorry, c'mon." she gently pulled Wilt away. Wilt looked back at Ke, who didn't know he was leaving.

Frankie waved to the plump, rosey-cheeked lady before pulling Wilt onto the bus, starting it, and driving away. Wilt clambered to the back seat and watched as the orphanage slowly faded from sight. Wilt waved, since he didn't get to tell her good-bye. He hated to think when Ke woke up he wouldn't be there, and maybe start crying again. He shivered, remembering exactly what she had said

_"I hope you never leave me . . ."_


	3. Gone in the Morning

Chapter Three: Gone in The Morning

Wilt's eyes cracked open as he was greeted with a sharp pain in his legs. He moaned and rubbed them. He was still riding in the van, his legs crunched up under the seats. Apparantally, even if he stretched them out, they'd still get a little sore.

"Frankie?" He called. Frankie took a second to glance over her shoulder, then concentrate on the road again.

"Yeah, Wilt?

"How long are we going to be riding?"

"Umm... well, we've only been on the road for fifteen minutes, and you've been asleep for ten."

"Oh."

No wonder they weren't there yet. They still had at least five minutes till they reached Foster's.

Five minutes passed and Frankie stepped out of the bus, shortly followed by Wilt. In his mind, Wilt thought back to Ke. She wouldn't know he was gone by sight, but what would happen when she tried to find him? Wilt was worried. She had already lost her friends.

Wilt sighed as he pushed open the large doors. He was greeted by choruses of imaginary friends singing carols and small squeaks of small friends. Bloo lay on the couch next to Mac, who was smiling as he watched all the hustle and bustle.

"Come ooooonnn!" Bloo whined. "When do we get to open the presents?"

"Not yet." said Mac. Wilt managed a small smile at his friends' bickering as Mac continued to try to make Bloo wait to open his presents.

"But I want to know if I get a jet car!" Bloo yelled. Wilt laughed and suddenly found himself wondering how anyone could fit a jet car inside a small Christmas package and wrap it. Frankie trotted into the room, whistling a happy Christmas tune of her own.

"It's almost time to open presents!" she announced. Cheers rose from the floor all the way to the high ceiling. Bloo hopped off the couch.

"Finally!" he said.

Wilt laughed again.

A few minutes later, everyone gathered around the humongous Christmas tree. Bloo was the first to get to his presents, of course. He ripped the biggest one open with a greedy smile, but as soon as he saw what was inside, he began to whine again.

"But I wanted a jet car!"

Mac rolled his eyes with Frankie as he uncovered a brand new and shiny paddleball.

"Hey Bloo, did you ask for a paddleball again this Christmas?" There was a pause.

"No."

But Mac knew that even if Bloo insisted on having a jet car, he wanted a paddleball as well.

Wilt was busy gently and slowly tearing open his presents with his only arm with a warm smile.

"Thanks, Ed." He said as he uncovered a potato sack. Eduardo smiled.

"It es me favorite." he told his friend. Wilt smiled, and even if Wilt himself didn't like potatoes, he was glad that Eduardo would give up one of his favorite things to him.

"I'm sorry, but are you sure you don't want it back?" Wilt asked. Ed shook his head with his smile still stuck on. Wilt smiled.

And from under the tree, his long arm reached out and pulled from it a large egg shaped present. He turned it over in his hand before setting it on the floor and unwrapping it. A bright red plastic egg held his reflection as he gazed at it, knowing immediately whom it was from. He popped it open and inside lay a cereal bowl. But it wasn't just ANY cereal bowl, no! It was decorated in painted on basketballs. Wilt smiled at the imaginary bird friend as she blinked.

"Thanks Coco."

"Coco!" she said. Wilt smiled again.

After everyone had seemingly opened every present and the young imaginary friends had gone to bed, Frankie walked up to Wilt, who was ready to open the door to his shared room, where all his friends were sleeping.

"Wilt! Wait a second!" she called. Wilt plastered on a smile.

"Yeah, Frankie?" he asked. Frankie smiled and held up one last present. "I've been saving it." She whispered.

Wilt looked at the colorful box in her delicate hand. "Who's it from?" he asked.

Frankie smiled and pushed it towards him. "A special friend who I talked to." She said. "What else was I supposed to say when somebody asked about you?"

Wilt curiously took it from her hands and watched her retreat to her own bedroom. Looking at the tag on it, his eyes widened at the childish and clumsy handwriting.

Quickly, he sped off, his sneakers squeaking on the wooden floors.

Skidding to a halt in the clock room. They ticked and tocked on and on. Silence reigned besides that. Wilt carefully and slowly opened his present to reveal an orange ball with some black. A basketball. One with the same clumsy handwriting on it. Reading it, he figured out that on the ball, it said "Wilt". Holding it close to his chest, he got up, threw the wrapping paper away, and climbed beneath Bloo's bed, drifting into sleep with the ball tucked beneath his arm.

And back in the clock room, the tag still lay on the floor. And on it, it read "KE."


End file.
